Electrical insulator



w. J. WELCH AND A. H. TRACY. ELECTRICAL INSULATOR.

} L ICATI N FILED APR. I7, 19 9. 1,393,330. ed 0011.11, 1921.

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ELECTRICAL INSULATOR. APPLICATION FILED APR. H, 1919;

1,393,330. rammed Oct; 11, 1921.

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thereto.

N D ST P EN oFFlcE.

, wAnTnnJ. wnLcH insu er: H. TRACY, or cn cAGo, iLLINoIS,1 AssiGNoRsToH. M.

BYLLEsBYa COMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or'nELAwARE.

LECTRICAL insunA ronf To all'whomifimay concern:

Be it knownthat we, WVAn'rnR J. WELCH andA'rLnE H. TRACY, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of Chicago, in the county of Cook andStatefof Illinois, have invented a certain new-and useful Improvement inElectrical Insulators, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention. relates to electrical insulators of the generaltypewhich forms the subject-matter of U. S. Letters Patent No.1,110,934, dated September 15, 1914, and re lates particularly to suchinsulators when connected in series, as commonly applied to high tensionlines. 1

The object of the invention is to provide an improved coupling forconnecting, the

ends of the metallic loops or links used to connectthe individualinsulator disks com posing'a complete insulator, which will be simplein'construction, which will provide a joint or connection which will besufficiently strong to withstand any 'stressesto which it may besubjected in use,and which may be quickly and conveniently applied inthe field without the use of special tools or equipment of any kind.

To this: end, our improved coupling comprises a tubular shell at theends of which interiorshoulders are formed adapted to interlock withshoulders formedon the ends of the loop, or link which connects adjacentinsulator elements. Said shell .is divided lengthwise to formcomplementary segments, preferably two, which are adapted to be securedtogether in assembled position by a ferrule or the like appliedto theoutside thereof.- Y i In the accompanying drawings, in which ourinvention is fully illustrated,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of an insulator indicatingthe'application of our Figs. 2 and3 aretop planviews of adjacent insulatorsshowing the arrangement of the holes therein for making connections.Fig. 4 is a. longitudinal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of ourimproved coupling; and I i Fig. 5 is a sectional view thereof on theline 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring now to the drawings, A designates, as a whole, an insulatorcomprising a plurality of insulator elements 1 connect Specification ofLetters Patent, Patented Oct, 11, 1921, Application filed Apri117 1919.Serial K052150 51,

ed inseries by means of metallic links or loops 2 to" form an insulatorhaving great electrical resistance and'particularly adapted for useonhigh tension lines.

The insulator elements 1 are of the type of that which forms thesubject-matter of U. a

S. Letters Patent No. 1,110,934, dated September 15, 1914, and will bereadily understood by skilled electricians from an examination of thedrawing without a descrip tion in detail thereof. However, if for anyreason, a full description thereof is desired, it maybe had: from saidU. S. Patent No. 1,110,934 to which reference is made. i

A distinguishing characteristic of this typeof insulator is theprovision of means on opposite sides thereof for making connectionsthereto, together with means for diverting rain from the under sidethereof. Specifically, said attaching means consists of curved holes oropenings 3 and 4 formed in opposite sides of said insulatorelements, thewalls of which are continuous so as to prevent leakage therethrough tothe opposite side thereof, and the loops of which extend through eachother. Said holes or openings are adapted to receive the metal links orloops 2, which are preferably flexible so as to facilitate insertingthem through said holes or openings, being either made of heavy copperwire or of flexible metal cable or wire the ends of which are adapted tobe connected by means of a suitable coupling.

In the preferable construction shown, each ofsaid links or loopsconsists of two similar members, preferably made of strong steel wire,which are bent between their ends to provide for inserting them throughthe holes 3 and 4 formed in the adjacent sides of connected insulatorelements 1 and also to conform to the seats on said insulator elementsformed by said holes 3 and 4.

The ends of the members formed in said links or loops are connected bymeans of suitable coupling means, designated as a whole B, to form thefinished links or loops and thus to connect the insulator elements 1.

In accordance with our invention, the coupling means for thus connectingthe ends of the members of said links or loops 2 consists: of heads 5formed on the ends of said link members and a tubular shell 6 formed atthe ends of which are interior shoulders 7 which are adapted tointerlock with shoulders 8 formed on the heads 5, said shoulderspreferably extending substantially at right angles to the direction ofthe pull or tension which the insulator A will sustain m use,'therebyeliminating practically all components of stress in said coupling otherthan in the direct line of tension.

To provide for applying the coupling to the heads 5 on the link members"to'be connected, said coupling shell is preferably divided lengthwiseinto complementary segments, preferably two similar segments, which,after being adjusted to the heads 5 with the shoulders 7 and 8 ininterlocked position, are secured together by means of a ferrule 9applied to the outside of said tubu lar coupling shell.

Said coupling shell is preferably made of steel or other strong metal ofsuch thick ness that it will be sufficiently strong to withstand anystresses to which it will be subjected in use, and in any event, asstrong as other portions of said links or loops 2.2

In assembling the coupling, the ferrule 9 which holds the parts of thecoupling shell together, is first placed over the end of one of themembers which is to be connected, preferably the end of that memberwhich will be uppermost in use. The parts of the coupling shell are thenadjusted to the heads on the ends of the link or loop members to beconnected, after which the ferrule 9 is slipped down over said couplingshell, which will hold the members of said coupling shell in engagementwith the heads on the endsof the connected links or loops.

Due to the fact that, in use, practically the only stresses which thecoupling B will sustain will be at right angles to the engagingshoulders 7 and 8, and that practically no stresses will be developedtherein tending to force the parts or membersof the coupling shellapart, the only function which the ferrule 9 will perform will be tohold the parts of said coupling shell together and it may, therefore, bemade relatively light. In practice, we contemplate making the side wallsofsaid coupling shell about 10 gage in thickness and the thickness ofthe ferrule 9 about 22 gage. Obviously, however, the thickness of saidshell and ferrule, respectively, may be varied as desired to meetvarying requirements.

The ferrule 9 is maintained in adjusted position 011 the coupling shellby means of flanges 10 on oppositeends thereof which embrace oppositeends of said coupling shell. In practice, the flange 10 at one end ofsaid ferrule will preferably be formed before said ferrule is adjustedto the coupling shell, while the flange at the-other end is designed tobe formed after said ferrule has been adjusted in position, which may bedone quickly and conveniently by making said ferrule somewhat longerthan the coupling shell and bending the projecting end thereof inwardlyover the-end of'said coupling shell, which can readily be done by meansofpliers or a hammer, which are always available in the field. Also, toprovide for easily bending over the projecting end of said ferrule,parts thereof may be cut away, so as to form spaced lugs or lips,indicated in dotted lines at 10 in Fig. l, which may be easily bent overthe end of the coupling shell.

W'ith the described construction, it is obvious that our improvedcoupling may be finished complete at the shop and that all that will berequired to apply the same either in the original installation or in making repairs, will be to assemble the various parts and bend or crimp theprojecting ends of the ferrule 9 over the end of the coupling shell. r

7 Owing to the greater flexibility of metallic cable and the greaterease with which it may be inserted through the holes in the insulatorelements 1, a single continuous length of said flexible metal cable maybe employed, in which event only a single coupling will be required toconnect the ends thereof. As regards its mechanical features, however,the construction of said coupling will be the same as where two-partlinks or loops are employed, thus rendering necessary two couplings.

A coupling comprising a cylindrical shell of even diameter throughoutits length and consisting of two similar longitudinal segments, saidshell being provided with a bore adapted to receivethe ends of the partsto be connected, said bore being provided with shoulders extendingentirely around the shell and constructed and arranged to interlock withcorresponding shoulders on said parts to be connected, a cylindricalferrule fitted to the exterior of said coupling shell and having aflange at one end thereof of a width to extend over an end of saidcoupling shell and leave an opening sufliciently large to pass over theshouldered end of either of the members to be connected, and lugs on theopposite end of the ferrule adapted to be bent over the other end of thecoupling shell to secure the ferrule in engagement with the shell andsaid shell in engagement with the coupled parts.

i In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention, we aflixour signatures this 10th day of April, 1919.

WALTER J. WELCH. ATLEE H. TRACY. Y

